There’s a reason the Chase Ultimate Rewards program is popular among credit card users: Points are easy to accumulate, and they offer tremendous value when used. It’s widely considered one of the most flexible rewards programs of any card issuer.

Plus, the program is tied to some of the best rewards cards for earning potential and redemption opportunities. These include the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and the Chase Ink Business Preferred℠.

One of the most useful benefits of the Chase Ultimate Rewards program is the ability to transfer your points directly to frequent-flyer programs of partner airline programs, including United. This article breaks down the ways you can earn and use your Chase Ultimate Rewards points toward United flights – and get the most out of your rewards when doing so.

1. Upgrade Your Sign-up Bonus

One of the best and fastest ways to earn a free flight with Chase Ultimate Rewards points is to sign up for a new Chase credit card that offers a sign-up bonus. With the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, for example, you can earn up to 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of opening the account. Depending on how you redeem, that could be worth a couple of domestic flights or an international flight if you transfer to United.

2. Rack Up Bonus Points

There are several ways to rack up bonus points within the Chase Ultimate Rewards program. The Chase Freedom, for example, gives 5% cash back on bonus spending categories every quarter. In the past, bonus-spending categories have included purchases at gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants, movie theaters and more. The Freedom card does not give you the ability to transfer to partner airlines like United. However, you can transfer points between your Chase accounts. So, if you have the Sapphire Preferred in addition to the Freedom, you can transfer points earned with the Freedom to the Sapphire Preferred and then transfer them to an airline partner like United.

3. Earn Points with United Travel

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card allows you to earn 2X points on travel such as airfare and hotels, and dining at restaurants, fine dining venues and cafes.

So, if you book a United flight with your Chase Sapphire Preferred card, you’ll get 2X Ultimate Reward Points you can use for future travel.

4. Book Reward Flights with United Airlines

To transfer your Ultimate Rewards points to United, you’ll need a MileagePlus frequent-flyer account. It’s free and easy to sign up, and once you do, you can provide your frequent-flyer info to Chase to enable transfers. Once you’ve transferred over points from your Chase Ultimate Rewards account you can start booking award flights with United Airlines. United miles are quite flexible, due to the sheer size of the airline, and can be cashed in for domestic or international flights. The minimum amount needed for booking an award flight is just 12,500 points for one-way Economy.

5. Shop Through the Online Portal

As an alternative to transferring points directly to United, you can use your points to book United flights through the Chase online portal. You basically redeem your points like cash for travel of your choice. In addition to being a convenient way to shop for flights (on United or other carriers), the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card gives you a 25% redemption boost when you redeem via the portal. In other words, those 60,000 points from the sign-up bonus are worth $750 towards travel.

Here’s how to book your next adventure:

Sign in to your Chase Ultimate Rewards account.

Click on “Use Points” option in the dropdown menu.

Choose the “Explore and Book Travel” option.

Or you can choose “All Stores” to browse other options.

This will bring up the screen where you can book your next journey. You can choose from hotels, flights, cars and other activities. Once you find the type of travel you want to book, you have the choice between paying with your Chase credit card, or using points from your Ultimate Rewards account like cash. Remember, thanks to the 25% value boost with the Chase Sapphire Preferred, you could book a $750 United flight for just 60,000 points.

The Bottom Line

Whether you’re a loyal United Airlines traveler, or someone who loves the perks that come with Chase’s Ultimate Rewards program, this combination is the perfect match. With these ideas, you’ll find different ways to use points earned with Chase credit cards in combination with United Airlines travel opportunities. It’s a win-win for everyone.

Editorial Note: The information related to Chase Freedom® Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve® has been collected by Credit Cards Explained and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Carrie Smith is a financial writer and founder of Careful Cents, a blog and community aimed at helping freelancers overcome financial mountains. Her mission is to focus on building client-based businesses through meaningful relationships. She's been featured and published in Glamour Magazine, The Huffington Post, Inc and many other media outlets. Learn more about her and connect with her in real time on Twitter @carefulcents.

Editorial Note: Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer.

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Editorial Note: Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer.

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